Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas (lane 7) dives across the finish line to capture gold in the women’s 400-meter final at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on August 15, 2016.
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The 22-year-old defeated six-time Olympic medallist, Allyson Felix in what proved to be a dramatic photo finish.
It looked for all the world as if Felix was going to nail down a fifth career Olympic gold medal, but Miller dove at the line and won by a split second.
“My mind just went blank”, Miller, a former track star at the University of Georgia, said of her unorthodox finish.
Miller will get the gold medal in the 400 meters. “I just really wanted it”. I told myself I was never going to let that happen again.
As you might imagine, Felix was crushed by the shock defeat to Shaunae Miller, and it reportedly took her an hour to even address the media after the race.
Felix was trailing as they came out of the curve, and she gained throughout the stretch, coming up inches short.
There is a precedent for a runner diving across the finish line to take an Olympic medal: American David Neville did it in Beijing in 2008 to take a bronze in the 400-metre final. “I didn’t really have too many thoughts on it”.
Zhang Wenxiu of China won the silver medal with her season-best 251-9¾ and Sophie Hitchon of Britain moved into the bronze medal position with her last attempt of 244-6¾.
Had Shaunae Miller finished the women’s 400m final on her feet she would have had to settle for Olympic silver. “I just gave it my all”.
This is quite possibly one of the greatest moments of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I’m disappointed. It’s been a tough year and I was kind of hoping it would come together”, she said. At the trials, Felix finished in fourth place behind Jenna Prandini by 0.01 seconds.
Even so, she became the most decorated US female track star, with seven overall medals, including three in the relays.
On Monday night, the women sprinters raced in the 400 meters.
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Miller’s dive over the line ended with her looking up at the sky, staring at the stadium lights in Rio.
